Asean criticism

ASEAN has been branded a toothless tiger when it comes to solving problems, according to Prince Norodom Sirivudh, supreme privy counselor to King Norodom Sihamoni. Sirivudh squared off against the Australian Ambassador to ASEAN Gillian Bird at Pannasastra University in Phnom Penh on Wednesday. The pair were part of a panel organised by the Australian embassy and the Cambodian Institute of Cooperation and Peace, founded by Norodom Sirivudh, to discuss regionalisation. Bird reiterated Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s statement that ASEAN is “an outstanding example of regional cooperation”.